UFC and WEC Veterans to Bolster MFC Middleweight Division

Jan 6, 2009 11:36 AM John Chandler

Rory Singer. Photo property of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The Maximum Fighting Championship has recently added three new fighters to it’s ever-growing middleweight division - Rory Singer and Solomon Hutcherson, who were both featured on the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show as well as former World Extreme Cagefighting middleweight contender Bryan Baker.

Singer and Baker have signed to fight each other at MFC 20 on February 20 while Hutcherson could make his promotional debut on the card as well if Mark Pavelich and company are able to find a suitable opponent for him in time for the event.

“I’m very excited about the addition of Bryan Baker because I think he can be a really dominant force in the MFC,” MFC President Mark Pavelich said in a press release sent out to the media.

“We are waiting for someone to step up and declare themselves as next man to wear the MFC middleweight title belt and follow in the footsteps of the champion, Patrick “The Predator” Cote. I hope that Bryan, along with Solomon Hutcherson and Rory Singer, realize the golden opportunity that is there for the taking.”

Singer went 2-2 during his time in the UFC. After winning his first two fights inside the Octagon against fellow “TUF 3” cast members Ross Pointon and Josh Haynes, Singer fell to some of the best in the UFC’s middleweight division - Yushin Okami and Jason MacDonald - in consecutive fights, resulting in his release from the organization.

Singer, a product of Athens, Georgia’s Hardcore Gym and a former training partner of Forrest Griffin, last fought at an American Fight League show in March where he was upset by relative unknown Chilo Gonzalez. Lingering injuries have prevented him from fighting since.

Despite winning two out of his three fights and going the distance with Chael Sonnen during his time in the WEC, Baker was not selected to make the transition over to the UFC after it’s sister brand folded its 185 lb. division at the end of last year. Baker has since won twice in smaller shows.

Hutcherson is looking to bounce back from his recent loss to David Loiseau at XMMA 5 in September, which resulted in Loiseau being picked up again by the UFC. After his release from the UFC following a knockout loss to Luigi Fioravanti at The Ultimate Fighter 3 Finale, Hutcherson put together a four-fight winning streak, which included a submission win over Canadian prospect Nabil Khatib.